1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate to identifying an operator, who provides an input in the form of a gesture, in an information system that accepts input by a user with a gesture.
2. Description of the Related Art
Information systems accepting inputs by users with gestures, include a system that is provided with a camera taking a picture of a hand of a user, recognizes a gesture of the hand of the user from the picture taken by the camera, and executes a process corresponding to the recognized gesture (for example, refer to Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication NO. 2011-204019).
Technologies to identify operators, which are performers of inputs, in an information systems include a technology, in an information system that is mounted in an automobile and that includes an input apparatus arranged between the driver seat and the passenger seat of the automobile and a camera capturing an image downward from above the input apparatus, to determine whether an operator is a driver seat user or a passenger seat user from the orientation in the horizontal direction of an arm of the operator in an image captured by the camera (for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2009-294843).
Technologies to recognize gestures of hands from images captured by cameras include a technology to recognize, for example, the area of a hand, the area of fingers, the features of the skeleton of the hand, and/or the number of extending fingers from an image of the hand captured by the camera (for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-346162).
When the camera that takes a picture of a hand of a user is provided in an information system mounted in an automobile and input of gestures of hands of both the driver seat user and the passenger seat user is accepted on the basis of pictures taken by the camera, it is preferred that the camera be arranged in front of the front seat of the automobile and an image of the rear side be captured substantially in the horizontal direction with the camera. This is because the above arrangement and the above capturing manner allow the gestures of the hands of the users, which are oriented forward, to be successfully identified on the basis of the captured images and the gestures of the hands oriented forward are natural for the users.
In contrast, when the camera capturing an image downward from above is provided, as in the case described above, and it is determined whether the operator is the driver seat user or the passenger seat user from the orientation in the horizontal direction of the arm of the operator in the image captured by the camera, it is necessary to prepare the camera that captures an image of an arm of each user downward from above, in addition to the camera that captures an image of a hand of each user backward from forward.